This invention relates to paint spray booths, and more particularly to sound deadening apparatus for paint spray booths.
A related prior art spray booth is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,421,293, Halls, to comprise an enclosed chamber through which the articles to be painted are passed. The working floor of the booth consists of a flat grating beneath which is located a sub-floor. The sub-floor is continuously flooded with water during operation of the booth, and this water is removed from the booth, together with the paint-contaminated air, through a series of spaced outlet structures such as tubes which depend downwardly from the sub-floor toward a water trough or channel.
The turbulence generated in the air and the water during passage through the tubes assists in transferring the solid paint particles from the air into the water, and the water is then discharged into the trough. Paint is subsequently removed from the water in a flotation tank or similar treatment apparatus at one end of the trough. This turbulence does however generate a substantial amount of noise, and more noise is produced by the fans which are operated continuously to remove the air from the booth. As a result, noise levels within the booth chamber can be considerable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a paint spray booth in which operational noise levels within the booth chamber are significantly reduced in comparison with prior art spray booths.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an outlet structure for location in fluid communication with the sub-floor of a paint spray booth which reduces noise levels within the booth chamber.